About the Greenhouse

History

The Life Sciences Greenhouse, opened in August 2011, offers climate-controlled rooms geared to specific environments and houses unique collections that are open to the public. Two orchid rooms, one warm and one cool, house the award-winning Brout Orchid Collection, the gift of Alan Brout '51. Mr. Brout donated nearly 1,000 individual plants and continues to find new and unusual orchids to add to the collection.

The tropical room includes plants that grow in areas where temperatures range from 65 degrees Fahrenheit (F) through  80 degrees F. This collection includes banana, coffee, chocolate, and pineapple plants. Also present are many species of carnivorous plants, a perennial favorite among visitors.

A sub-tropical room features a collection of ferns and fern allies, along with a number of fragrant flowering and fruiting shrubs. There is also a pond with goldfish and aquatic plants. Sub-tropical plants can handle nighttime temperatures as low as 45 degrees F.

A xeric room offers a desert collection of plants that thrive in dry or seasonally dry environments. Plants in the cactus family are well represented in addition to many other families that have unique adaptations to help them survive limited rainfall. 

The research areas, closed to the public, are filled with experimental projects of Dartmouth faculty and their students.

While continuing the primary educational and research missions, the Greenhouse is also open to the public to enjoy the 'living botanical museum.' Informal and group tours are available.